The present invention relates to support structures. The present invention in particular relates to support structure components which may be used together; these components may, however, also be used alone in the sense that they may be used independently of the other components of the present invention. A support structure comprising a component of the present invention may for example be used in the context of providing a support for a person. The present invention also, for example, relates to an overhead support structure or frame comprising one or more of the components of the present invention. Such an overhead support structure or frame may for example be used in the context of providing a person handling system for lifting and transferring a person from one location to another. The present invention in particular for example relates to a telescopic track as well as a telescopic mast assembly which may for example be exploited in the context of a person (e.g. patient) handling system.
Support structures are known for lifting and transferring loads as well as people; please see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,809,591, 5,694,654, 5,337,908 and 3,000,329; please also see for example International patent application number PCT/CA98/00935 which relates to a winch for such a person handling system and which was published under International Publication number. WO 99/17704 (the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference).
In the following particular attention will be made to the use of the components and a frame in the context of supporting a person and in particular to person lifting and transferring systems by way of example only; the components and frame may of course be used for the purpose of transferring other types of loads and providing other types of support.
There is a continuing need for structures for supporting a person and in particular for a rail or track support structure or frame which can be used to raise, displace and lower a (e.g. incapacitated) person e.g. displace a person between a bed or chair and a bath area etc.; such support structures may be needed in many environments such as in private homes, hospitals, rehabilitation centres, group homes for the aged, etc.
Known mast or pole structures used with overhead rails or tracks for forming support structures or frames may have their longitudinal lengths adjusted by relying on pairs of lock holes and lock pins (see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,000,329 and 2,630,076). These adjustment mechanisms are also relatively cumbersome to use. See also U.S. Pat. No. 2,630,076.
Other known overhead track mechanisms or systems are either directly bolted or otherwise fixed to the ceiling of a room or are maintained in place by mast or support rod assemblies which are relatively complex structures to set in place. These structures are intended to be more or less permanent fixtures i.e. the structures are usually not intended to be knocked down once set in place.
Known mast structures for use alone or for support frames are also deficient in that if the longitudinal pressure (i.e. between the floor and ceiling) is too low, the post or mast may not provide sufficient support and may collapse when being used resulting in injury to a person using such structure.
It is, however, for example, known to provide a support post having an upper end for abutment against a ceiling (or other object) and a lower end for abutment against to a floor (or other object); see U.S. Pat. No, 5,056,753. In this known mast structure, the length of the post or mast may be adjustable such that it may be longitudinally extended, thereby causing the upper and lower ends to abut firmly against the ceiling and floor, respectively, and to accommodate different room heights. However the type of mast structure shown cannot be easily set up or broken down in relatively quick order; this would be especially so in relation to a rail or track support structure or frame which comprises an overhead track or rail component.
It would be advantageous to have a track (or rail) component and/or a mast assembly which may be relatively easily built up and knocked down and which components can be readily length adjusted to accommodate the area of use. It in particular would be advantageous to have a track or rail the length of which may be adjusted during installation of a track or rail support system. It would also be advantageous to have a rail or track support system which could be easily transferred from one location to another location as the need arises. It would further be advantageous to have a rail or track support structure which has a rail or track supported by masts or post which provide the necessary lateral support during use by an individual.
In accordance with one aspect the present invention provides a telescopic track, said track comprising an inner section and an outer section, said outer section having an exterior side and an interior side, said inner section being disposed on the interior side of said outer section so as to be telescopically displaceable in and out of said outer section said outer and inner sections defining a travel channel for a trolley means comprising a trolley connector projection, said outer section having a longitudinally extending first opening through which may extend said trolley connector projection, the first opening of the outer section being defined by opposed inwardly extending slot projections extending into the interior side of the outer section, each of the slot projections terminating in a respective first interior support surface, said inner section having a longitudinally extending second opening through which may extend said trolley connector projection, the inner section having interior surface portions bordering the second opening on opposite sides thereof defining respective second interior support surfaces, the slot projections being adapted (or configured) to register within the second opening such that the first and second interior support surfaces are in an essentially common plane and define a travel support surface for the trolley component.
In accordance with the present invention a telescopic track may comprise a plurality of the inner sections coupled together by a plurality of the outer sections. In accordance with the present invention a telescopic track may comprise two of the inner sections coupled together by an outer section. In accordance with the present invention a travel channel may be a tubular travel channel, i.e. have a tunnel like aspect. Alternatively a travel channel may have a U-shaped cross section, i.e. be open from above. A telescopic track, may for example be used as part of a person support system comprising an overhead track; a telescopic track may be supported by a system of masts of known type or for example a system of masts as described herein. Alternatively, instead of using one or more masts, a track may be supported in any other suitable fashion; e.g. a track having a pair of opposed longitudinal slots as described herein may be supported by T-shaped hangers extending downwardly from a ceiling, the head of the T thereof being engaged in the travel channel with the root thereof extending out of the longitudinal slot to the ceiling to which it is attached.
In accordance with another aspect the present invention provides a telescopic mast assembly, said telescopic mast assembly having a longitudinal axis and comprising an outer section having an interior side and an exterior side,
an inner section, said inner section being disposed on the interior side of said outer section so as to be telescopically displaceable in and out of said outer section along said longitudinal axis, and
a releasable snap lock component comprising bias means, a lock projection, a plurality of longitudinally spaced first lock openings defined by one of said inner and outer sections and a second lock opening defined by the other section,
said outer section, said inner section, said bias means, said lock projection and said second opening being configured such that said second lock opening is alignable with said first lock openings and such that when said second lock opening is aligned with a first lock opening said lock projection is displaceable between a biassed lock position and an unlock position said bias means being configured so as to able to bias said lock projection in said biassed lock position
wherein when said lock projection is in said biassed lock position said lock projection is disposed in said second lock opening and in the first lock opening so as to inhibit telescopic displacement of said inner section along said longitudinal axis relative to said outer section, and wherein when said lock projection is in said unlock position said inner section is telescopically displaceable along the longitudinal axis relative to said outer section.
In accordance with the present invention the outer section may define the plurality of first openings and the inner section may define the second lock opening.
In accordance with the present invention a telescopic mast assembly may for example comprise two releasable snap (or quick) lock components. In this case the mast assembly may, for example comprise two (i.e. a pair of) opposed lock projections and two (i.e. a pair of) opposed second openings defined by the inner section. In this case the outer section may also define a plurality of pairs of opposed first lock openings, the pairs of first openings being longitudinally spaced apart. If desired or necessary, however, the first lock openings need not be paired so as to be disposed opposite each other; they may be offset relative in some suitable or desired fashion (with corresponding displacements of the lock projections and second lock openings). The two releasable snap lock components may comprise separate biassing means or share a common biassing means (e.g. a common helical spring); in any case the biassing means is of course to be configured so as to able to bias each of said lock projection in a respective said biassed lock position.
In accordance with the present invention a lock projection may include a lock notch. The lock notch may be configured to seat a part of the inner section which is configured to register therein so as to inhibit displacement of the lock projection between the lock position and the unlock position when the mast component as a whole is under compression between the upper and lower support surfaces. The part of the inner section to be seated in the lock notch may for example comprise the peripheral edge or rim which defines the second opening or it may comprise a projection defined by the inner section.
In accordance with the present invention the lock projections may be provided with an upper cammed (or cam) surface for facilitating the quick outward telescoping displacement of the inner section, i.e. such that a snap lock occurs once the speed of withdrawal of the inner section falls below a predetermined threshold value (such threshold speed and cam shape of the lock projection may be found by empirical tests keeping in mind the desire to allow quick withdrawal while avoiding a snap lock at an undesired first lock opening).
In accordance with the present invention a mast assembly may if so desired comprise adjustment means for adjusting (i.e. fine tuning) the compression force to which the mast assembly is subjected to during use, namely length adjustment means able to alter or tend to alter the length of the mast assembly.
Accordingly, a mast assembly as provided by the present invention may, for example, be one
wherein said inner section comprises an extension component and a base component,
wherein said base component comprises said bias means, said lock projection and defines said second lock opening of said releasable snap lock component,
wherein said outer section and said base component are configured to cooperate so as to inhibit rotation of said base component about said longitudinal axis relative to said outer section and
wherein said mast assembly further comprises coupling means for screw coupling said extension component and said base component together such that, when said base component is locked by the releasable snap lock component so as to inhibit displacement of said inner section along said longitudinal axis relative to said outer section, rotation of the extension component about the longitudinal axis relative to the base component is able to induce displacement of said extension component relative to said base component along said longitudinal axis.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is more generally provided a mast assembly having a longitudinal axis and comprising
an outer section having an interior side and an exterior side,
an inner section comprising an extension component and a base component,
said inner section being disposed on the interior side of said outer section so as to be telescopically displaceable in and out of said outer section along said longitudinal axis,
a releasable lock means for locking the inner section in place with respect to said outer section so as to inhibit displacement of said inner section along said longitudinal axis relative to said outer section
anti-rotation means configured so as to be able to inhibit rotation of said base component about said longitudinal axis relative to said extension component and
said mast assembly further comprises coupling means for screw coupling said extension component and said lower component together such that when said inner section is locked in place relative to the outer section so as to as to inhibit displacement of said inner section along said longitudinal axis, rotation of the extension component about the longitudinal axis relative to the base component is able to induce displacement of said extension component relative to said base component along said longitudinal axis.
In accordance with the present invention one end (e.g. the lower end) of the mast assembly may if so desired or necessary be adapted or configured in any suitable (known) manner for engaging a lower support surface (e.g. floor); see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,753. It may for example be configured to releasably engage a pedestal plate which can present a relatively large abutment surface area to the lower support surface so as to spread the load on the lower surface over a relatively large area.
Similarly, in accordance with the present invention the other end (e.g. upper end) of the mast assembly may if so desired or necessary be adapted or configured in any suitable (known) manner for engaging an upper support surface (e.g. ceiling); see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,753. It may for example be configured to releasably engage a load spreader plate which can also present a relatively large abutment surface area to the upper support surface so as to spread the load on the upper surface over a relatively large area.
In accordance with the present invention the engagement means between the mast assembly and a pedestal plate and/or load spreader plate may include a compression spring acting between a respect end of the mast assembly and a pedestal plate and/or load spreader plate as the case may be.
In accordance with the present invention each mast assembly may be associated with its own a pedestal plate and load spreader plate. However, if so desired, two or more mast assemblies may share a common pedestal plate member and/or a common load spreader plate to which they may be releasably attached during use.
A telescopic mast assembly as described herein may for example be used alone as a self standing support structure, i.e. for supporting objects or as a support pole for assisting a person to stand up or to sit down. On the other hand a telescopic mast assembly as described herein may, for example, be used as a mast component for supporting an overhead track component of a person support system. The person support system may comprise any desired track member; it may for example, comprise a telescopic tack as described herein.
In accordance with an additional aspect the present invention provides in a person support system for use in a room having a floor and a ceiling, said system comprising
an overhead track component having opposed ends
at least two upstanding mast components
connecting means connecting each end of said track component to a respective mast assembly
the improvement wherein said overhead track component comprises one or more telescopic tracks as defined herein.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided in a person support system for use in a room having a floor and a ceiling, said system comprising
an overhead track component having opposed ends
at least two upstanding mast components
connecting means connecting each end of said track component to a respective mast assembly
the improvement wherein said mast components comprise one or more mast assemblies as defined herein
A person support system for use in a room having a floor and a ceiling, said system comprising
an overhead track component having opposed ends
at least two upstanding mast components
connecting means connecting each end of said track component to a respective mast assembly
wherein at least one of said mast components is of telescopically variable length and comprises a component of compression variable length for causing upper and lower ends thereof to respectively engage upper and lower support surfaces.
In accordance with the present invention there is further provided a kit for a person support system comprising an overhead track component, a mast component and releasable connecting means for connecting said overhead track component to said mast component
wherein said overhead track component comprises a telescopic track, said track comprising an inner section and an outer section, said outer section having an exterior side and an interior side, said inner section being disposed on the interior side of said outer section so as to be telescopically displaceable in and out of said outer section, said outer and inner sections defining a travel channel for a trolley means comprising a trolley connector projection, said outer section having a longitudinally extending first opening through which may extend said trolley connector projection, the first opening of the outer section being defined by opposed inwardly extending slot projections extending into the interior side of the outer sleeve section, each of the slot projections terminating in a respective first interior support surface, said inner section having a longitudinally extending second opening, the inner section having interior surface portions bordering the second opening on opposite sides thereof defining respective second interior support surfaces, the slot projections being adapted (or configured) to register within the second opening such that the first and second interior support surfaces are in an essentially common plane and define a travel support surface for the trolley component and
wherein said mast component comprises at least two mast assemblies, each mast assembly having a longitudinal axis and comprising
an outer section having an interior side and an exterior side,
an inner section, said inner section being disposed on the interior side of said outer section so as to be telescopically displaceable in and out of said outer section along said longitudinal axis, and
a releasable snap lock component comprising bias means a lock projection, a plurality of longitudinal spaced first lock openings defined by one of said inner and outer sections and a second lock opening defined by the other section,
said outer section, said inner section, said bias means, said lock projection and said second opening being configured such that said second lock opening is aligned with said first lock openings and such that when said second lock opening is aligned with a first lock opening said lock projection is displaceable between a biassed lock position and an unlock position
said bias means being configured so as to able to bias said lock projection in said biassed lock position
said bias means being configured so as to able to bias said lock projection in said biassed lock position
wherein when said lock projection is in said biassed lock position said lock projection is disposed in said second lock opening and in the first lock opening so as to inhibit telescopic displacement of said inner section along said longitudinal axis relative to said outer section,
and wherein when said lock projection is in said unlock position said inner section is telescopically displaceable along the signal axis relative to said outer section.